Everything to play for

30 January 2013

After an award-nominated debut and touring with the
likes of Muse and Snow Patrol, Everything Everything were left with
quite some challenge for their next musical chapter. Neill Barston
spoke to them about second album Arc.

Under the auspices of new record label Sony, Everything
Everything have bunkered down in the studio to conjure up a more
direct, honest-sounding body of music for the difficult second
album.

From appearing on the BBC news to talk about the state of HMV,
being put forward for a Mercury prize, through to their music used
on the Inbetweeners movie, there have already been plenty of
intriguing experiences.

While they’ve far from neglected their musical roots, which at
times veer towards dizzyingly complex rhythms, there’s a definite
bid for greater mainstream acceptance on their second record,
Arc, which went in at No5 on the UK album charts on
its release.

It’s an approach which the band’s Tunbridge-Wells born bass
player Jeremy Pritchard is taking fully in his stride. As he
explains, there’s been plenty of hard graft along the road so far,
yet he wouldn’t trade it in for anything.

“I think it’s amazing that we made it to the top 10 –
we were hoping the album would make it there and it’s great for us
it has done that,” enthuses the 26 year-old, who is now based in
London when not living out of a suitcase.

He adds: “We wanted to make a record that was even better than
before, something that would stand the test of time. Something not
just for everyone out there, but for us as well, playing it live.
It’s great that people seem to like it and we are getting lots of
positive messages about it.”

As he admits, during the five-week recording process in the
Northampton, they soon realised the confidence gained from some
serious gigging enabled them to experiment and push some creative
barriers.

That’s certainly apparent from singer Jonathan Higgs, whose
falsetto vocals have expanded from the rapid-fire delivery
which made many of their lyrics incomprehensible. He’s now
taking a more decipherable vocal style which underlines the sharp
progress they’ve made.

Their days together at Manchester University have clearly
moulded them into a tight group, capable of producing highly
distinctive sounds as demonstrated on the album’s lead singles
Cough Cough and Kemosabe.

“The new album just seemed to flow really well, it was a very
calm time and the four of us were happy with it. We’d become better
players through touring and before we’d even gone into the studio
we’d managed to get the core of the songs down already.

“My favourite tracks are Choice Mountain and I also love the two
singles as well. Kemosabe was completed almost two years ago. We
did the video for that in a forest near Slough, which I found out
had been used in Return of the Jedi movie for the forest moon you
see at the end of that film.”

Another of the upsides being on the road with the likes of Muse
has been in learning a few additional pointers about staging a
show. While they’re not going to start breaking out the
multi-million pound U2-style venue sets just yet, they’ve picked up
some very valuable tips.

With critical support from Radio 1’s Zane Lowe and Nick
Grimshaw, they are feeling confident about the bigger stages
they’re now reaching.

“I was quite nervous the first night playing arenas with Muse,
but it was good fun. They have led intense lives throughout the
whole of their 20s and half of their 30s and worked incredibly
hard.

“When we were on the ferry with them over to the Irish gig we
were just there with our usual tour bus and parked up behind us
were the 14 or 15 articulated lorries with all the Muse kit, so
that made us realise the scale of what we were doing!”

Though touring commitments have meant Jeremy, who studied at the
Judd School in Tonbridge, has had little time to catch up with
friends in Kent, he’s still plenty of time for his first ever
venue, The Tunbridge Wells Forum.

Without it, he says his fast-rising career would have gone
nowhere and believed the building (which was salvaged from its
former guise as a public toilet) was richly deserving of its NME
best small venue award last year.

“I’m so pleased that they won that award, as it’s so unusual
that a place like Tunbridge Wells would have a live music venue.
It’s something I actually took for granted for quite a long time
growing up there, but there’s been some great music there.

“We really wanted to play there again this month, but with
promoting the album it hasn’t been possible.

"I am hoping that on our way to Dover for our touring that we
might be able to do something there to celebrate its 20
year anniversary.”

There have already been a number of key highlights for the band,
but what would he say has been the best to date?

“What we’re doing right now is the most rewarding thing for
us.

"We’ve worked hard in the five years we’ve been together. There
have been some unbelievable things happened with the Mercury
nomination and the albums.

"We’re just savouring the moment and I think the next few months
promoting and touring the album are going to be very exciting.”